NW WA Meet / BS Thread

Not sure about the first place... but the second, you need to take tinkham rd to hansen creek which is 5510 I believe? But going up hansen creek you can only make it part way up before hitting a locked gate, plus all the roads to the top of the surrounding hills have all been turned into mt bike trails over the last couple years and the fs has placed barriers at the entrances to each road to keep trucks out.

the third place is just past this place we were talking about a few days ago

I was just there last tuesday and thursday, and past the creek its to brushy for all your shinny trucks, and tons of washouts that I could hardly squeak by on my quad. Then you hit some real narrow roads

finally to end up at this before you get to any of the other good roads in the area.

 

Heading up Tinkham to Hansen Creek to the locked gate is fun if there is fresh snow... once the snow is deeper, you can crawl right over top of the gates up there but that's not for another month or so... hitting Tinkham, Hansen Creek, and Denny Creek would make for a decent day with fresh snow, and they are all right next to each other on the west side of the pass.... I hit Denny Creek to the summit on my way to the meet on Saturday, it had been traveled already so it was easy going. But it would make for some fun with a little more snow and its a lot closer than heading east of the pass.

also, Hwy 2 has much better places than i90... just something to consider. They don't seem to put as many gates and road blocks out there.

 

If I were you, I would actually not bring my rig
Lack of recovery gear and conditions are expected to be very slick with possibly deep snow in places. There is no doubt you will need to use recovery straps, etc. Also you'll be getting stuck and unstuck plenty which is cool, but if you just got wisdom teeth pulled and are on pain meds, I don't know if you'd be able to jump out in the snow and help shovel, push etc.

I am going to definitely switch to M/Ts. My A/Ts sucked donkey. Could also be due to the fact they are Cooper Discoverer AT3s which have got me stuck in snow easily before.

It's not hardcore with respect to possible damage and rocks, but it is hardcore slick and probably a challenging time to start learning your truck's offroad behavior.

 

x2 on the 2nd place. The gate at the old shooting pit has always been closed.


The 3rd place may be difficult but we can definitely see how far we can get. Everything near Chester Morse Lake is generally closed to motor vehicle access due to watershed. I've tried to explore the area but gave up.

 

advenstureseth -

Will offers good advice - as usual - and the guys are very helpful but with those things working against you from the start -- might not be the trip to test. I went out with them this past weekend and got stuck early - chose to go back down - not wanting to be a danger to them or me - my truck is fairly capable (for a street queen) and I thought I would head back down - snap a few pics and call it a day. These guys are the best but putting them, or you, in potential harm for some fun makes no sense. Have fun and if someone offers a seat - take it - they know how to wheel!!!!

Thanks for the tow and the fun - got some great pics - and willing to learn...slowly...remember - I'm old!!....stay safe!!!

 

That's exactly what I'm sayin!

 

It was an awesome time up there! Started getting cold quickly.

I might be up for another run this weekend - totally dependent upon snow for me though

 

SNOW MEET​

Date: Saturday November 23rd

Time: 9:00AM to 10:00AM SPECIFIC TIME WILL BE UPDATED AS THE WEEKEND NEARS

Meet Location: CAN CHANGE
Safeway Parking Lot
460 SW Mt Si Blvd
North Bend, WA




Destination: CAN CHANGE
1.) It's a switchback that forks off of NF Road 5045. It'll get us just below 5,000' of elevation so it should hold a spectacular view.
Copy/Paste into Google Search Bar to see the dropped pin:
47.301846,-121.486731



2.) A high point just NE of Chester Morse Lake. Has a lot of switchbacks & looks like a sweet view from the top overlooking the valley below to the S/SW.
Copy/Paste into Google Search Bar to see the dropped pin:
47.396664,-121.661739





YES:
SeattleCoug
GSPRunner
n.clarkwa
adventureseth
YZRIDER3087
cosmicfires


POSSIBLY:
Mr. & Mrs. Beavis0076
kbauman92
AWilson013
rideexileex


.

 

Put me down as possibly for the run.... Destination #1 might be a good one. However, destination #2 is not a possibility. FS 50 near the west end of Chester Morse lake is closed to public access because it is part of the Seattle watershed. Found the info on the FS website, and downloaded their public use map and its clearly marked as closed to public access. Only other way to get anywhere near there is where I took my quad, its washed out, over grown and after all that an impassable road block... unless there is another way I'm not seeing?

after looking up destination 1 on google... looks like you need to access FS 50 to get there?? From what I can tell, FS 50 is gated right at the begining near Iron Horse state park.

 

From my experience, you are 100% correct. I spent a few weeks trying to find a way to poke into Lester, WA without going through Stampede Pass. I believe security around the watershed has increased over the past 10 years so even trails farther away are being allowed to overgrow. I believe there is entry for FS50 on the west side (near Rattlesnake Lake) but it requires previous arrangements and only allows you to access a 'visitor' area near the west side of the lake.


Otherwise I've heard that accessing these roads gets you a quick visit from a gubmint authority.

 

Done.


Sounds like these areas are a no go then...
Maybe we ought to just explore the other side of the interstate

 

You guys should check out SNOWTREK.ORG and click in the Snow Wheeling tab... lots of good info and places to go and updates from others on there.... dunno if you all are opposed to HWY 2, but Tonga Ridge and FS 65 are all real good places to go. For me HWY 2 is the same as I90 distance wise. I'm in Seattle near northgate mall. Plus you pass right by Reiter pit, and the 4x4 loop is fun to hit on the way. Sliders needed though for sure. Anyway, that's my 2 cents. I'm supposed to have Saturday off, so for now count me in on whatever you guys figure out.

 

We didnt know how much snow to really expect and I think most of us were surprised by how much we really ran into.

I like how on gitout they have a list of equipment you need to bring along on the trips... Now I dont want to have this escalate to the point where we all need permission slips from our moms to go out, but I think this trip really showed how the proper gear is essential (full size shovel, recovery strap, shackle, recovery points (sports dont come with a good one on the front), full tank of gas, proper tires, cb( I really think a CB is essential), etc.)

If you are havnt wheeled your truck much it might be a good idea to ride shotgun for a trip, or we have an easy fireroad meet to break the new guys in heh heh. Plus understand what all of the do dads in our trucks do. I have a skewp so I have no need for ATRAC or a locker, but for the guys that do have that stuff, play around with it and or read up on it, its amazing what that stuff can do for you.

Of course this trip wasnt bad, no one got stuck on the mountain, no one got hurt, but as a group we can do better to ensure our safety and our fun!

Good times and lets keep em coming!

 

I would be game for HWY 2!
You're right, same distance, and they will have more snow, or at least more access to areas & possible shooting. Plus we (or most of us) won't have to deal with Seattle traffic on the return, that's always a plus

 

x2 I wanna put this TRD locker to good use yee yee

 

Hey thanks for the advice. I really appreciate how helpfull everyone on here seems to be.

 

Note with the lockers, time, and tire pressure...

***

Lockers can be a friend and a worst enemy in the snow... Even though I wasn't there myself, I'll point out the example from the snow run last year up at Evan's where people didn't make it out till 6am.

Lockers in the snow have the tendency to kick you sideways anytime traction is lost, especially on a side-hill situation. Anything off camber, and open-open will be your safest bet. Selectable lockers are greatly preferred in the snow. If I remember the stories correctly, the rig that had the most trouble last year is full time locked in the rear, and with a light truck bed, ended up off the side of the road.

As mentioned, they are awful once you lose traction, but with finesse can offer aided traction. Prime example was the jeep / willy's from the last run - the guy knew what he was doing with those full time lockers. A low HP motor was key in my mind, because he did not spin the tires at all. Any moment they started to slip, clutch went in and he went into reverse to give it another run. All in all, I found myself to have the lockers on only in the really deep fluffy stuff... I don't think they made that significant of a difference, at least for our last run.

***

With mention to time, I think we should kick these snow runs a few hours earlier. I know it's the weekend, but just like skiing, we should plan to hit the snow by 9 or so. We didn't start wheeling till the ~11:30 mark, and didn't leave much for daylight. We got out just before dark, and that didn't have any serious rescues involved. Had $... hit the fan, we would have had a miserable time. We should caution for errors, and give some buffer time.

***

Also - PSI. Even myself, I didn't air down sufficiently at first, but I ended up around 5psi in the end, and it made a world of difference. This is needed for the snow wheeling around here. We should start planning to seriously air down to these low PSI numbers. Since no one here that I know of has bead-locks, we should be ready to re-seat a bead if something crazy were to happen. Worst case, that means throwing on a spare tire, but ratchet straps can come in handy for squeezing the tire to help reset a bead. Another aspect to think about is a large base to use for the jack / hi lift in the snow to support the truck. I think bringing a compressor is also a vital piece of equipment on these snow runs.

Although on the cheaper side, I've seen these work quite (relatively) well out in the field. Normally I'm hesitant to recommend a HF product, but these would serve well as an intro: Viair and ARB also make great pumps, which I would definitely recommend for flow rate, etc over the HF pump, but at least the HF one is a start.

***

Please give me some feedback!

 

Additionally, I just purchased:
http://www.amazon.com/Series-Accuga...1384807065&sr=8-8&keywords=tire+gauge+low+psi

 

I don't know much about lockers in the snow, but definitely start earlier to account for snow. A lot of guys are coming from North/South of Seattle so idk how much earlier people are wanting to meet up. PSI, yes, definitely air dowwwwwwn